RiverClan
Description RiverClan is a peaceful Clan who lives around water. Their territory is wet and soggy, and they hunt fish, otters, eels, lobsters, water voles and ducks, but sometimes other birds, mice and squirrels. They are kind, and, since fish is plentiful, eager to share prey. But they are cunning, and can swim through the water better than an otter, and they keep their claws sharp. Allegiances Leader: 'Otterstar - light brown tom with blue eyes - mate to Mallowstorm and father of Stonepaw and Pikepaw - Pintosong '''Deputy: '''Rockpelt - bulky dark gray tom with blue eyes and a massive head - mate to Lilyshade and father of Mossykit and Fogkit - Kittycat79 '''Medicine cat: '''Watermint - blue she-cat with green eyes - Pintosong : ''apprentice, Pikepaw 'Warriors: '''Mallowstorm - gray she-cat with amber eyes - mate to Otterstar and mother of Stonepaw and Pikepaw - Pintosong :: ''apprentice, Stonepaw : Newtflower - black she-cat with gray ventral areas and amber eyes - mate to Hawkstripe and mother of Fleckpaw, Ebonypaw and Quailpaw - Pintosong : Hawkstripe - brown spotted tabby tom with yellow eyes - mate to Newtflower and father of Fleckpaw, Ebonypaw and Quailpaw - Pintosong '''Apprentices: '''Stonepaw - gray tom with blue eyes - Pintosong : Pikepaw - light brown tom with amber eyes - Pintosong : Fleckpaw - gray she-cat with brown flecks and amber eyes - Pintosong : Ebonypaw - solid black she-cat with bright yellow eyes - Pintosong : Quailpaw - dark gray she-cat with black stripes on her tail and yellow eyes - Pintosong : Pollenpaw - gold siamese she-cat with muddy brown points and pale blue eyes - Pintosong : Crocuspaw - gold tabby she-cat with bright purple eyes - Pintosong : Tricklepaw - brown tom with darker patches and deep blue eyes - Pintosong : Mahoganypaw - dark ginger-brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes - Pintosong : Rainypaw - blue she-cat with white raindrop-shaped markings on her flanks and bright blue eyes - LaurenRainyWarrior '''Queens: '''Bubblemist - blue she-cat with blue eyes - mother of Silverkit, Flamekit, Shrewkit and Birdkit - Pintosong : Lilyshade - light brown-and-white tabby she-cat with ocean-blue eyes - mate to Rockpelt and mother of Mossykit and Fogkit - Kittycat79 '''Kits: '''Mossykit - dusty brown tabby she-kit with black and white splodges and teal eyes - Kittycat79 : Fogkit - very light gray tomkit with dark gray stripes and blue-green eyes - Pintosong : Silverkit - silver tabby she-kit - Kittycat79 : Flamekit - dark ginger tomkit - Kittycat79 : Shrewkit - black tomkit - Pintosong : Birdkit - gray tomkit - Pintosong '''Elders: ''none'' Previous cats none Roleplay Otterstar padded over to his mate, Mallowstorm and said, "How are our kits going?" "They're fitting in well. Stonepaw's a good learner, and Watermint says Pikepaw knows about more than half of the herbs." "Good." - Pintosong Mossykit woke in the curve of her mother Lilyshade's belly. Eyes bleary with sleep, she snuggled closer to the queen's warm fur, realizing her brother was not next to her. He must be out playing. It's freezing cold though! Brrrrrr. ''- Kittycat79 Fogkit was outside in the snow. He was trying to make a mound that he could push on Mossykit when she comes outside to investigate. - Pintosong Eventually Mossykit woke. She let a huge breath out. She could see her breath and shivered. ''Whatever. I'm going outside now. I wonder what Fogkit's doing. ''She rose to her paws, but just as she did Lilyshade clamped the fluffy tail down with a paw. "Where are you going, Mossykit?" "Outside." "Okay then. But remember, it's cold. Don't stay outside too long chatting, if a stranger enters camp run back in here, don't let your naughty brother lead you out of camp, always make a warrior test ice before you step onto it..." Mossykit squeezed out of the nursery entrance before her mother finished speaking and burst out into the snowy clearing. - Kittycat79 Watermint the medicine cat shuffled outside. A cold breeze whipped around her face. She saw Otterstar and Mallowstorm having a conversation, and padded over, "Otterstar," she said, "are you going to choose a deputy?" Otterstar replied, "I think I should, but we don't have many choices." Watermint had an idea, "What about Rockpelt?" "Hmm," Mallowstorm spoke, "Lilyshade's mate? That's not a bad idea." Otterstar nodded, "I'll have a think about it. Thank you, Watermint." Meanwhile, Pikepaw padded up to Fogkit and asked, "What are you doing?" "I'm setting a trap for Mossykit." "I'll lead her to the mound." Pikepaw laughed. - Pintosong Mossykit glanced around, not noticing the snow mound but Pikepaw instead. (in the future she has a crush on him even though he's a medicine cat). Oh great. But I'd may as well play with him if there's no one else around. She padded over. "Hi, Pikepaw!" she called. - Kittycat79 Pikepaw heard Mossykit's greeting and responded, "Hey, Mossykit! Come over here, I want to show you something!" he glanced at the concealed Fogkit, who was trying to stifle his laughs with his tail. - Pintosong "What is it?" Mossykit asked, anxious about the surprise. She liked the feeling of Pikepaw's pelt brushing hers but she didn't know why. - Kittycat79 "It's around here..." Pikepaw led Mossykit to the mound of snow with his tail and told her to stay there with her eyes closed. He walked around the mound and winked at Fogkit, who immediately pushed the mound on top of Mossykit. - Pintosong "Humf!" Mossykit growled, her voice muffled by the snow. She quickly clawed enough away with her tiny paws to stick her head out. "You fox-hearts! Get me out!" - Kittycat79 Fogkit burst out laughing, but Pikepaw felt a bit guilty. It was a really mean thing to do. He went up to the pile and dug Mossykit out. - Pintosong Mossykit shook out her fur and gave Fogkit a look that could torch stone. "You have just got onto Mummy's bad list for the day, fluff-brain!" Then she looked at Pikepaw. "Er, thanks," she meowed, not really knowing how to talk to toms much. Then she ran off to the fresh-kill pile even though the kits were too young to eat solids yet. - Kittycat79 Stonepaw, Pikepaw's brother, watched the previous scene with amusement. Pikepaw was playing a kits' game. When Mossykit ran to the fresh-kill pile, Stonepaw padded up to Pikepaw and said, "Hey, bro! I need to talk to you." When Pikepaw followed, he lead him to the area behind the elder's den, where the non-existant elders will stay. He turned to his brother and whispered, "I think Mossykit has a crush on you." "Huh?" Pikepaw looked shocked, "No way!" Stonepaw rolled his eyes, "I can tell. She-cats. You know Fleckpaw? She acts like that around me all the time!" Pikepaw shook his head as he said, "Must be mistaken. She's just a kit." "Kits can have crushes too!" "But I'm a medicine cat!" "So?" "What's goin' on?" The three littermates, Fleckpaw, Ebonypaw and Quailpaw, had appeared behind Stonepaw. "Nothing!" the two toms yelped in unison. "Riiiiight!" Ebonypaw giggled, "We heard everything. I'd watch your tail, Pikepaw. Mossykit luuurves you!" Quailpaw snapped out of her daydream, "Yeah, what she said!" "Shut up." Pikepaw growled, Fleckpaw laughed. "We warned you!" she meowed, then added, "Hi, Stonepaw!" Stonepaw blushed as the she-cats ran away, giggling their heads off. - Pintosong As Mossykit was gazing longingly at a fish on the pile, a warm voice sounded behind her. "I think you're a bit little, Mossykit!" it meowed in a friendly tone. She whipped around to see her father, Rockpelt, a handsome gray tom and well-respected RiverClan warrior, sitting with his thick tail wrapped around his paws to keep them warm from the pale snow. He immediately jumped up, tail in the air. "I haven't seen you for ages!" Mossykit squeaked, lashing her tail playfully. She run under his fluffy belly and swiped at his foreleg. With a mock groan he tipped his muscular body onto the ground, scattering half-melted snowflakes. His daughter jumped onto his side, baring her little white milk teeth that would soon be replaced by real ones. "I win!" she mewed triumphantly. - Kittycat79 Otterstar jumped into the Hightree and yowled, "Let all cats old enough to catch fish gather for a RiverClan meeting." the few Clan cats trotted in front of the tree and sat, "I have an important announcement," Otterstar heard whispers at his words, and continued, "I have chosen a deputy." This time, the apprentice she-cats gasped, and Otterstar saw his sons roll their eyes at them. Otterstar took a deep breath and mewed, his voice carried by the wind, loud and clear, "Rockpelt, do you wish to be deputy?" - Pintosong Rockpelt gets up, shakes out his stone-coloured pelt, grooms it into order and meows confidently, "Wow, Otterstar, I never expected to be picked as deputy." He swung his massive head to return the gazes of the Clan, all fixed on him. "It would be an honour to be able to defend my Clan even further." He padded up to the Hightree, bunched his muscles and jumped onto the branch beside his leader, then turned to face the Clan, blue eyes sparkling like the river in newleaf. - Kittycat79 Otterstar nodded as the Clan murmured in agreement, "Then I say these words before StarClan, Rockpelt will be deputy of RiverClan." The Clan cheered, "Rockpelt! Rockpelt! Rockpelt!" Fogkit was the loudest of them all. His father played his role-model. - Pintosong Mossykit had scowled when her father left her, but now she ran up to her brother and yowled Rockpelt's name in unison with Fogkit. She glanced across at Pikepaw, whose fur was still bristling slightly from his confrontation with the other apprentices. Having not heard, she briefly wondered why he looked so angry, then returned to cheering at the top of her lungs. - Kittycat79 Pikepaw was cheering, but his mind was still on what the apprentice she-cats and Stonepaw said. Mossykit can't have a crush on him, how ''dare ''they say such things! He glared at her. If she didn't stutter so much, they wouldn't tease him. Then he took a deep breath. It wasn't her fault she was like that. Pikepaw glanced at Stonepaw, who caught his eye and raised his eyebrows repeatedly with a mocking smile. Pikepaw scowled. - Pintosong After the meeting broke up, Rockpelt leapt down from the Highbranch and stalked across to his mate. He whispered something in her ear, and Lilyshade padded over to Mossykit and Fogkit and beckoned them with her brown tail. "Bedtime, kits! And your father just told me what you and Pikepaw did today, rascal!" she meowed, claw-sharp gaze on her son. "If I hear about you ganging up against your sister again, I'll tell Otterstar to delay your apprentice ceremony! I spoke to Pikepaw's mother about it too. She wasn't impressed." She strode off to the nursery, tail tip kinked over her back, telling the kits to follow her. Mossykit hit her brother half-playfully in the shoulder and ran off after her mother, calling to Fogkit. "Come on!" - Kittycat79 Suddenly, a yowl was heard from the nursery. Fogkit and his family rushed in to find the other queen, Bubblemist, lying on her nest, flanks heaving, breaths coming out in gasps. Within seconds, Watermint was running into the den with Pikepaw at her heels, carrying herbs in his jaws. Watermint calmly sat down beside the shrieking queen and ordered herbs from her apprentice. Fogkit stared at Bubblemist and asked, "What's going on? Is she hurt?" Pikepaw spat out his herbs, "She's having her kits. Stand back." Pikepaw rest a paw on the convulsing stomach of Bubblemist, "I think one's coming out!" "Ok." Watermint nodded. She shoved a thick stick into Bubblemist's mouth and instructed her to bite down on it when the pains come. Within an hour, four kits squirmed at their mother's belly as they suckled. A silver tabby she-kit, a dark ginger tomkit, a black tomkit and a gray tomkit. They were named Silverkit, Flamekit, Shrewkit and Birdkit, respectively. - Pintosong Mossykit rushed into her mother's furry belly and squeaked, "Mummy, what's happened to Bubblemist?" Lilyshade licked her kitten's soft fur. "She had her kits, Mossykit! New friends for you!" Her daughter mewed excitedly, purring. "You can't play with them yet though, Mossykit. In a couple of moons." The kit's tail drooped. "Okay." She snuggled into Lilyshade's side and fell asleep, casting a glance at Pikepaw. - Kittycat79 Pikepaw stared at the newborns. This was the first emergency he had ever dealt with. The kits were healthy and suckling happily, and Bubblemist was already snoozing. Pikepaw saw that Birdkit seemed to be the runt of the litter. He hoped that his littermates wouldn't pick on him. - Pintosong The tiny she-kit Silverkit snuggled amongst her brothers. Her long tail was squished by Flamekit and she squeaked in pain. Flamekit instinctively moved away. - Kittycat79 Bubblemist woke up and looked at her adorable little kits. Tiny little Birdkit was squashed under his brothers, so she gently pulled him out. He yawned, to show razor sharp teeth that seemed too big for his size. ''Pity he's so small, ''Bubblemist thought to herself, ''he looks like a great fighter. ''She shook this thought out of her mind. Yes, he'll be a great fighter. It doesn't matter if he's tiny! - Pintosong Mossykit woke up a while later. She blinked grogginess from her vision, got up, stretched, and dropped into a hunting crouch after seeing her brother lying at the edge of the nest. The patched tabby she-kit crept up to Fogkit and jumped on him, squeaking. "Gotcha back!" - Kittycat79 "Aw, no fair!" Fogkit complained, pushing Mossykit off him. He shook out his pale fur and stomped outside. He noticed something different. The air smelt fresher, and the snow was sloshier. He looked at the tree. It was growing buds, and little sprouts were poking out. Fogkit and Mossykit ran down to the river. It was thawing. The kits had never seen anything like it. That must mean... Newleaf was here. - Pintosong It was morning, and the kits hadn't noticed their father, Rockpelt the new deputy, organizing patrols in the clearing, but the big gray tom noticed them. He finished and ran down to the river, following Mossykit and Fogkit's scent trails, and padded up behind them. "Just what do you think you're doing?" he growled softly. Mossykit and her brother whipped around, fluffy fur on end. The blotched tabby she-kit mewed, "Dad! Why're you here?" "To bring you home," Rockpelt meowed. He escorted them back to camp, where he bundled them into the nursery and told his mate, Lilyshade, who had woken up. Once Rockpelt left, Lilyshade told her kits off. "What where you thinking, escaping from the camp like that?" she hissed worriedly. - Kittycat79 Fogkit looked up at his mother in defiance, "We wanted to see the river thaw! You told us it would do that in newleaf!" - Pintosong Lilyshade sighed. "I told you the river would thaw in newleaf, I did. But I ''didn't ''say you could go look at it!" Mossykit padded up to stand beside her brother. "But we'll be six moons old tomorrow! Apprentices can look at the river!" Lilyshade nodded. "True, Mossykit, but you're still a kit and kits don't go adventuring out of camp without a warrior." The queen got to her paws and shook out her sleep-ruffled tabby-and-white fur. "I'd may as well eat now that your father had to wake me," she meowed. The queen licked a paw, wiped it over her face and squeezed out of the reedy nursery entrance. Mossykit whipped around and faced her littermate. "Now what are we going to do? Mum's banned us from exploring outside the camp." - Kittycat79 Fogkit rolled his eyes, "Don't be such a worry wart. She can't stop us when we're apprentices!" At around that time, Pikepaw appeared at the clan entrance, his jaws full of a delicious-smelling herb that Fogpaw recognised as catmint. Pikepaw seemed to be struggling not to chew the juicy leaves. - Pintosong Mossykit rolled her eyes at Fogpaw's insult and sniffed the air. Pikepaw's scent was drifting in through the gaps of the nursery walls, and Mossykit smelled it. She padded out of the nursery and ran up to the medicine cat apprentice. "Need any help, Pikepaw? I can carry lots of catmint if you want." Silverkit squeaked as the older she-kit nearly trampled her tail and rolled over onto her belly. - Kittycat79 Pikepaw dropped his load and smiled at the she-kit, "Thanks. Just be sure not to chew or swallow them, even though that's hard to do!" he joked. Mossykit and Pikepaw picked the herbs back up and took them to the medicine cat den. Fogkit watched them go with narrow eyes. What's going on between them? - Pintosong Mossykit dropped her catmint bundle in the crevice on top of Pikepaw's and shook out her pelt, glancing around. "How do you ever get used to the darkness in here? You must be really smart to remember the scent of every herb, because I can see hardly anything in here!" she mewed admiringly. - Kittycat79 The light brown medicine cat apprentice scuffed his paws bashfully, "It takes a bit of practice. At first, I kept bumping into the walls!" - Pintosong Mossykit giggled as she imagined him scrambling clumsily around in the darkness, then mewed, "I'd better get back to the nursery, or Lilyshade will wonder where I am," she squeaked. Without thinking she reached up, nuzzled Pikepaw's cheek in a really cute way, then turned around to leave, but Fogkit was standing a tail-length away, blocking her exit. (Pintosong could you just roleplay him in that position for a moment? I'm sorry for controlling your character, but I just want him to kind of question Pikepaw about you-know-what). :) - Kittycat79 "What?" Mossykit said, confused. Why was Fogkit blocking? "Nothing." Fogkit grumbled. Mossykit shrugged and pushed past her brother. When she was out of earshot, Fogkit stomped over to Pikepaw, almost towering over him even though he was younger, "What was that all about?" Fogkit meowed, half-annoyed. "What was what?" "There's something going on between you two, so tell me what it is!" "Nothing!" Pikepaw said forcefully, but unconvincingly. ''Maybe Fogkit's right, ''he thought, ''maybe I do like Mossykit. ''But he remained staring into Fogkit's eyes. Fogkit scoffed, "Yeah right. Anyways, I've got my eyes on you." with that, he carefully backed out of Pikepaw's den, his gaze never leaving Pikepaw's. - Pintosong Mossykit was padding away from the medicine cat's den, and she glanced back to see Fogkit emerge from the den tailfirst. ''What's his problem? ''she wondered. Trying to push the worry to the back of her mind, she ran across to the nursery, squeezed inside through the green reed stalks and thorns and curled up in the family nest. Lilyshade padded into the nursery, eyes gleaming. "Hi, Mossykit," she meowed, poking her daughter with her berry-pink nose. The tortoiseshell tabby she-kit snuggled closer to her mother, and the queen laid down in the nest, wrapping her tail around her kitten. It was hard now, considering her kits were almost apprentices and quite big. Lilyshade licked Mossykit between the ears and rested her chin on the bedding, closing her eyes. - Kittycat79 Fogkit turned around, huffing. As he looked around, he saw the whole clan was staring at him. Chuckling nervously, Fogkit followed Mossykit into the nursery. (I did that 'cause I thought it would be funny) XD - Pintosong Rockpelt padded into camp, leading a hunting patrol. His claws were soaked with blood and there were tufts of black and white fur in them. He dropped his prey, a plump fish, on the fresh-kill pile. Mossykit woke up, smelling blood. Ignoring her brother, she rose to her paws, yawned and stretched, and dashed out of the nursery, pulling up in front of her father. "Rockpelt!" she squeaked. "What happened?" The big tom, his stone-coloured coat ripped and bloody, licked a wound on his side before replying. "Just a badger wandering the border. We chased it off, don't worry. I'll report to Otterstar though." With that, he stalked off to the leader's den and poked his head inside. "Otterstar?" - Kittycat79 Having heard Rockpelt's pawsteps, Otterstar was already sitting upright when his deputy padded in. He was shocked to see him in such a bad state, "What happened, Rockpelt?" Otterstar mewed. - Pintosong "Just a badger hanging around the border with ThunderClan," Rockpelt assured his leader. "The patrol's pretty beaten up - I sent them to Watermint after we got home. We still managed to find some prey." Otterstar thanked his deputy, and Rockpelt padded out of the den and into the medicine cats' to be treated. - Kittycat79 Watermint was treating the patrol's wounds when Rockpelt walked in. He seemed to have the worst wounds. The medicine cat rushed him off into a nest as she hurried off to get more herbs and cobwebs. After she came back, Watermint cleaned Rockpelt's wounds with her tongue, while mumbling, "Thith bather seemth to haff been tuff. You're lucky thath you weren'th more inthured than thith!" She placed cobwebs over his cuts. Ebonypaw piped up, "Rockpelt fought the hardest, didn't ya?" The other two cats, Hawkstripe and Mallowstorm, mewed in agreement. - Pintosong "You fought? Who?" Lilyshade had appeared at the entrance to the den. "Oh, just a badger," Rockpelt explained calmly to his mate. "It gave us a few wounds to think about, but we chased it into ThunderClan territory. Now those bramble-dwelling weirdos'll have to deal with it." Lilyshade nodded and turned to Watermint. "Watermint, Bubblemist's milk level has been going down a lot lately for some reason, and her kits are getting thin. Could you give me some herbs for her?" - Kittycat79 "Okay." Watermint agreed. She went to the herb store and gathered up some borage leaves and padded out. She walked into the nursery and delivered them to Bubblemist. She instructed her to chew and swallow them. While the queen was chewing, Watermint looked at the kits. Yes, they were rather thin. - Pintosong Flamekit stretched open his kit-blue eyes for the first time and hopped up onto shaky paws. "Wh-who are you?" he asked, yawning and revealing a tiny pink mouth. Silverkit rolled into him, knocking him over, then opened her own water-coloured eyes and scrambled to her feet. She sniffed the air and wrinkled her nose, gazing at Watermint. "What's that weird tangy smell?" (BTW she means just general herbal scents). - Kittycat79 Watermint made to answer, but Bubblemist exclaimed, "Flamekit! You've opened your eyes!" The medicine cat laughed and answered the ginger tomkit, "That smell is borage. It'll help you get full tummies." - Pintosong Flamekit wasn't very interested in the explanation, but lay down next to Birdkit and Shrewkit and quickly fell asleep again. Silverkit thought about Watermint's words for a moment, then meowed, "Does borage taste like milk or fresh-kill? Mum says we can eat that in a moon." ............................. Outside, Mossykit stared absently at the medicine den, which her father had disappeared into. She shook her head to stop the distraction and padded over to the fresh-kill pile; Mossykit and her brother were now old enough to eat, and were almost fully weaned. The blotchy tabby kit grabbed the smallest fish she could see off the pile and settled down onto the sand to eat. The smooth, rich, tangy flavours sang on her tongue, with a touch of saltiness. She ripped it apart with her claws, then once she'd finished her meal, she spotted a water vole on top of the heap of prey. She scrambled up to it, grabbed the limp creature in her little mouth, then leaped powerfully down onto the ground again and threw the furry piece of fresh-kill into the air, playing. It was soon caked with mud, inedible. Mossykit kept throwing it around and pretending it was an enemy warrior. "Die, rogue!" she squealed, grabbing the neck of the vole and shaking it violently. Her paws kicked up dust, dirtying her pelt and scuffing the once-smooth earth. - Kittycat79 Fogkit heard a commotion coming from the fresh-kill pile. He peeked around it and found Mossykit playing with a vole, which was now almost unrecognisable from all the mud. ''Ha! ''he thought to himself triumphantly, ''She's gonna be in big trouble now! ''The pale gray tomkit turned around and scampered to find Lilyshade. He found her pacing outside the medicine den, fur slightly raised. Fogkit bounced towards her with a big grin on his face. Before she could say anything, he told her what his sister was doing. (Oooh, looks like someone's in trouble!) - Pintosong "What?!" Lilyshade growled. "We should be conserving prey so it runs well in greenleaf, not wasting it!" She stalked over to the fresh-kill pile, where Mossykit froze and dropped the dusty, mud-coated, half-shredded vole. She had made it bleed and was about to give it the "death bite". Lilyshade's tail lashed. "Mossykit!" she hissed. "Imagine what your father would think! His own daughter wasting good prey on the brink of greenleaf." With that, the tabby queen turned and padded over to the nursery, squeezing into the musky gloom. The she-kit whipped her head around to face her brother. "Thanks a lot!" she squeaked irritably. "Stupid toms and your stupid pranks!" She whirled and ran into the medicine cats' den, calling Pikepaw's name. She found the brown tom inside, startled. She rushed into the soft fur on his belly and stayed there. "Fogkit made Lilyshade tell me off!" she growled to him. - Kittycat79 Pikepaw turned around to face her, eyes wide, "Why did he do that?" - Pintosong Mossykit withdrew her muzzle from his pelt and looked up at him. "I was really bored so I was playing with a vole. It's kind of muddy now but I hardly ever play with food and Lilyshade's been acting all serious because of Bubblemist's problem so she never hangs out with me. Fogkit's so mean." (Wow Emily you make the longest RP posts! lol) - Kittycat79 The medicine cat apprentice purred, "If you were bored, why didn't you just come and visit me? Watermint and I always have jobs to do, right Watermint?" He raised his voice at the end. The unseen blue she-cat appeared at the den of the den, with leaves in her fur. "That's right!" she mewed, "As a matter of fact, we need more yarrow and poppy seeds. Can you two go and collect some for me?" - Pintosong Mossykit looked up, excited. "Okay!" She turned to Pikepaw. "Come on! I haven't seen the marsh forest since Daddy found me and Fogkit staring at the newleaf river." In the nursery, Silverkit rose to her paws, yawned, and squeaked to Bubblemist, "Mumma, can I go outside? Mossykit and Fogkit always do!" Lilyshade glanced over. "I wish they'd be a little ''less ''independant!" she meowed with an annoyed tone of voice, and flopped down onto her nest to sleep. She was tired from looking after her two rambunctious kits. Flamekit flicked his sister's legs with his stubby, flame-coloured tabby tail. "Shut up, Silverkit. I'm sleepy," he hissed and buried his nose in Bubblemist's belly. He tried to suckle and succeeded; Watermint's borage had finally worked. - Kittycat79 "No, Silverkit," Bubblemist chuckled, "you can't go outside now. Your littermates are tired and you can't go out by yourself. And no, I'm not going to bother another cat just so you can go outside. Come on, sleep with your siblings." ................ Pikepaw led his friend through the marsh forest, alongside the rushing river. The ground around it was super slippery, so he hoped they wouldn't have to go down there. Then, the young medicine cat saw some catmint growing next to the water. They had used quite a bit, since it wasn't much past leafbare. Mossykit spotted it as well. - Pintosong "Look! Catmint!" Mossykit yelped like a fox cub and ran down to the riverbank. But the mud was so slippery that when she leaned forward to bite at the herb's stems, she lost her balance and fell tailfirst into the river, squealing in shock. Freezing cold, dark water hit her body with icy paws and went over her head so she hardly knew which way was up. Her whole body was chilled to the bone with bubbles everywhere in the endless, sloshing, splashing, roaring blackness. Her small kit lungs screamed for air, but when she opened her jaws they filled with water, almost choking her. One paw scraped on a sharp stone and the water around it filled with redness - blood. That only sent her into an even more panicked state. She kicked and struggled but to no avail - she just couldn't reach the surface. ''I'm drowning! StarClan help me! - Kittycat79 Pikepaw ran into the river, caring nothing about the waves crashing over his head. He swam as fast as he could, trying to find his friend. Then he saw something. The river was turning red in a spot around the middle. Pikepaw kicked towards the spot as fast as possible, if not faster. Soon, he saw a tuft of black fur. He grabbed for Mossykit's scruff, and hauled her out of the water. - Pintosong Mossykit wriggled for a bit more in Pikepaw's grip, then relaxed. ''S-StarClan? Have you come? No, I don't want to die! ''She squeaked indignantly, but was surprised when the "spiritcat" plonked her on the grass. It felt wet and imperfect like normal. ''StarClan territory's grass must not be like this, ''she realized, and gazed up at her rescuer, finding it to be... "Pikepaw!" she mewed suddenly and snuggled into his sodden brown fur. "I'm alive! Thanks for rescuing me!" - Kittycat79 "Hey, what're friends for?" Pikepaw sighed, relieved that, indeed, Mossykit was alive, "It's not like I would let you die!" the light brown tom glanced at the river, and at the catmint, and shook his head, ''we can find catmint somewhere safer. I'm not gonna risk our lives again for a herb! ''He flicked his ears at the sodden kit before him, and led her further downstream, trying to keep as far away from the river as possible. - Pintosong The she-kit shook out her wet calico-and-tabby coat, spraying cold drops of river water everywhere, and sped off after Pikepaw. ''I'll have an interesting story to tell that smug fleabag Fogkit when I return! ''she thought, sniffing the air for yarrow, poppy and catmint. Silverkit pummeled her bedding in frustration. "I'm never allowed to have any fun! The nursery is boring! I'm not a tiny stupid mewling kitten anymore!" She curled up at the edge of the den. Sharp reeds poked her spine but she didn't care. She shut her eyes and fell asleep to dream of chasing a ladybug through a meadow. Its red-and-black spotted back shone in the sunlight as it flew out of her reach and buzzed into the wide, clear blue sky. ''Frog dung! ''- Kittycat79 Pikepaw and Mossykit arrived in camp. The sun had dried their fur. They took the herbs into the medicine den and sorted them. Pikepaw could feel Mossykit's teal gaze boring into him, and felt the roots of his fur prickle. Shaking the feeling off, the apprentice guessed that he still had some cold water in his fur, or a bug, or something. .................. Birdkit woke up with a paw kicking his head, "Hey!" the tiny gray kit hissed at his brother, Shrewkit. Shrewkit mumbled and turned over in his sleep. Birdkit sighed and opened his kit-blue eyes. Whoa. The late afternoon light glared at him, and he shut his eyes again. - Pintosong Mossykit stuffed some catmint into its stone hole, the shadows in the den swallowing up the darker patches on her pelt. "It was hard to resist eating those catnip leaves and flowers!" she mewed cheerfully, swishing some spilled poppy seeds into a corner with her short, fluffy kitten tail. "I was glad we carried that yarrow clamped against our chests though. It nearly made me wanna throw up when I smelled it! I love the colour of the poppy flowers, but most of the herbs have weird scents. I'm gonna tell Fogkit about my accident in the river. Bye!" she squeaked, jumped up and sprinted out of the medicine cats' shelter. - Kittycat79 Pikepaw blinked after Mossykit left. Boy, she talked fast! But he was glad that she had enjoyed it. He made sure that Mossykit had put all the herbs in the right places, and then went to his nest, trying to get a rest. - Pintosong A yowl sounded from the clearing, "Let all cats old enough to swim gather around the Highstump for a RiverClan meeting!" Pikepaw grumbled and stepped back out of his nest. What was it this time? Otterstar looked at all the cats that were trying to find a place in the clearing. "It's almost time for the Gathering!" Pikepaw looked up, surprised. Of course! How could he have forgotten? Otterstar continued, "The cats that wll go are Rockpelt, Watermint, Mallowstorm, Newtflower, Hawkstripe and the apprentices, except for Pikepaw." Pikepaw dipped his head and padded back to his den. They still needed a medicine cat in camp. - Pintosong After the Gathering, the young apprentice Rainypaw bounced back into camp before the others. It was so exciting, seeing the other Clans and sharing tongues with them! She snatched a small water vole off the fresh-kill pile, quickly devoured it, and ran into the apprentices' den to sleep. - LaurenRainyWarrior Mossykit jumped into the nursery, eyes glittering with excitement. "Fogkit!" she called. "Guess what happened to me today while I was looking for herbs with Pikepaw!" Nearby, Silverkit snuggled down further amongst her brothers. Bubblemist smelled a bit weird from eating the borage, but at least her kits now had milk to drink and keep them fit, healthy and happy as usual. Rockpelt walked beside Otterstar in a dignified, steady manner, his big gray paws brushing the muddy ground almost silently. The leader and deputy rambled on about stuff from the Gathering, and halted at the entrance to Otterstar's den. "Goodnight!" Rockpelt meowed. "I'll be up extra early to organize the patrols tomorrow morning. Oh yeah, and my kits - Mossykit and Fogkit - are nearly old enough to become apprentices. They're five and a half moons now." The pair of toms nodded to each other, then went their seperate ways, Rockpelt picking up a fat carp from the fresh-kill pile before disappearing into the warm, dark warriors' den. - Kittycat79 Fogkit heard his little sister call him. Jumping up, he turned his head to face her, "What is it, Mossykit?" - Pintosong Category:Clan